Color is somewhere in the clear to barest touch of gold line. Nice if somewhat understated aromatics. Definitely picks up a bit more of everything with some time/air. Riesling Fuel Aroma (aka petrol), apples, a bit of fruity fruit. Not the most full in the mouth. Text book off dry (hey is that some sweetness, naw it was only my imagination). A persistent hint of bitterness on the back end. Seemed to diminish somewhat with time. Probably served it too cold to start. In the end for the price a decent tipple.

I brought and opened a 1995 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile at MoCool on Fri. afternoon and it was in a great place. Very dry as expected, there was lots of petrol and some minerality, maybe slate, with some pear fruit in the background. We just sipped it with no food and that was a shame as it would have paired extremely well with scallops, Netart oysters, etc. My only previous experience with Cuvee Freddie was the 1990 consumed in 2000 and it was stunning also and with a bit more minerality. I have one more bottle of the 1995 and am in no hurry to open it.

I would agree that the Eroica is not going to offend many people, but I do think that with some risk taking there could be potential to better end results even if with some danger on the mass-market end. What I do tend to find offensive is the blandness that they have achieved from seemingly good raw materials.

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

Andrew Bair wrote: As far as the bocksbeutels, I remember reading that they have traditionally been used in one particular section of Baden. Maybe someone else can fill us in a bit more on the specifics. Oddly enough, I once had a Trentino Moscato Giallo in a bocksbeutel of sorts -alas, it was corked.

Historically the bocksbeutel was used only in Franken and was the synonym of the highest quality. Later the knights brought the bocksbeutel to their estates in Baden and only the highest quality wine was bottled in bocksbeutels again. One of them - and maybe the most important at that time - was Schloß Neuweier, they acquired the right to fill the wine in this kind of the bottles. Today most of their Rieslings - mostly from the Mauerberg Erste Lage vineyard - are bottled in bocksbeutel bottles. Actually only three estates are allowed to use this kind of bottles. At least this kind of information was told to me during my visit to them last year.There is another quality winegrower estate producing Erste Lage Rieslings from Mauerberg - Gut Nägelsförst - and they are not far behind...

Matt D wrote:I heard Chateau Ste Michelle (Washington) was pretty famous for their Rieslings so I gave some a try last week. I wasn't that impressed though I haven't really enjoyed anything I have tried from Ste Michelle unfortunately. Anyone have a similar (or opposite) experience? I just moved to Washington so I am really trying to support the locals.

Matt, I don't mean to speak ill of any Washington wine, but I advise that you steer clear of Precept's Washington Hills Riesling. I had one sip of it a couple months back and promptly threw the rest of it down the drain. The most bland tasteless wine I have ever put in my mouth. (and the price was so attractive, I think the 3 liter box went for about $12. At the same time I picked up a 3 liter box of Vina Borgia (old vines Garnacha) and since then I have purchased 4 more 3 liter boxes at $15 per box. This wine in bottles sells for about $10, so it winds up costing me $3.75 each. Dontcha just love a bargain?

2010 Knapp, Finger Lakes, Riesling ($16.95 U.S.). Alcohol level: 11%. The wine offers oranges and apples (just had to reverse that) on the nose and upfront. It has excellent structure with more fruit including ripe peaches, a touch of honey, and crisp acidity in the middle; and it finishes very nicely. It had enough oomph to match very well with penne in fresh tomato sauce, with broiled sweet Italian sausages, and cherry tomatoes vinaigrette with fresh parsley from the garden. Wonderful.

Speaking of 3L boxed bargains, one that's available at my wine merchant is Zimmermann Riesling by Zimmermann-Graeff & Müller of Zell, Mosel, in an "Essential Imports Series," imported by Zimmermann USA, Ripon CA. Under $15, showing a sweetness chart placing itself 3/4 of the way across toward the sweet end. I haven't ventured to buy it, having read how Germany's reputation is still recovering from the overly sweet Rieslings of the mid-20th cent. On the other hand, I don't object to sweetness on principle as long as it's balanced by enough acidity. Been extremely frustrated seeking information about this wine on the web: the company site (http://www.zgm.de/en/home/startseite.html) doesn't list it, the importer seems to have no website, and individual consumers offer no reviews anywhere. Has anyone here tried it and liked it?

Sorry not to have any info, but I would be dubious regarding that wine. It "sounds" like one of those flat land generics that caused the loss of reputation, versus a true quality wine.

There are lots of fine values from Germany that come in liter bottles, so why not take a chance on some of them. Good liter bottlings are available from Kurt Darting, Kruger-Rumpf, Reuscher-Haart, Strub, Spreitzer, Messmer, Minges, etc.

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett – 47-96 - 1993 – von Schubert - Alc.7.5%. This was another example why I love Ruwer Kabinett; light/medium bodied, gentle sweetness balanced by deliciously crisp acidity, finely focus, elegant, long and exuding aromas and flavour, in which strands of peachy citrus, petrol, steel and minerals were detectable with none standing out. A lovely drink but not without flaw because after certain mouthfuls of food I caught whiffs of striking matches on the finish which still hints at a heavy hand with sulphur 18 years ago. Lovely overall though; 17/20.

Tim York wrote:Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett – 47-96 - 1993 – von Schubert - Alc.7.5%. This was another example why I love Ruwer Kabinett; light/medium bodied, gentle sweetness balanced by deliciously crisp acidity, finely focus, elegant, long and exuding aromas and flavour, in which strands of peachy citrus, petrol, steel and minerals were detectable with none standing out. A lovely drink but not without flaw because after certain mouthfuls of food I caught whiffs of striking matches on the finish which still hints at a heavy hand with sulphur 18 years ago. Lovely overall though; 17/20.

Thanks for the note. I have one bottle of this lurking in the cellar. It's amazing that an 18 year old kabinett seems so young. The sulfur probably has a lot to do with that.

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

$18 Cdn, 11.5% alc, SC, up and coming winery for sure. All the wines I have tasted have been very good value.

Color. Very pale lemon, no green.Nose. Mineral, flint, no petrol, peach, jasmine. Still very open on day 2.Palate. On entry, dryish, good acidity, tart citrus on finish. "Needs time to open" from across the table. Like the tangy aftertaste, white stonefruit. Mosel it ain`t but typical Riesling from Ont. I feel. Opened up day 2, hint of sweetness plus lime distinct. Quite refreshing after a tough day.

From Sept 24, 2010.....>

It`s not off-dry, medium dry, sweet, this one is dry!!!! Yup, a great offering from Cave Springs of Niagara Peninsula fame. How will it show up against the Wildass I posted on a couple of weeks ago?

WTN: `07 Cave Spring Riesling Dry, VQA Ontario Niagara Peninsula.

Took a while to find space on the shelves here in town, this offering is exceptional from the well-known Niagara winery who also produce a single-vineyard CSV Riesling. Around $20 Cdn, good natural cork, 11.5% alc.

Color is a medium straw, no sign of lemon yet. On the nose I found some minerally citrus tones, peach and brief hint of gasolein. No tropical fruits here folks!Dry on entry with apple, zesty citrus and quite minerally. Very lively acidity here, "bone-dry.. this will fool them" from across the table. Non-honeyed, some grapefruit developed as it opened up. Very good effort from a fine winery and a lot different when one considers those German whites. The Wildass had some RS, this one is a style quite different but both good!

I considered my excessive remaining stock of 1997 Alsatians, mainly Weinbach Rieslings, as a candidate entry for David’s “wines you wish you did not own” post. However, they are not that bad, only lacking the nerve and liveliness which, for me, are an essential attraction of Riesling. I enjoyed this bottle more than one opened and noted in the Spring and quite a lot more than a Weinbach Schlossberg II opened a few weeks ago. 1997 was a rich low acid vintage but this Kastelberg seemed self-confident in its opulence (I seem to recall someone mentioning 20g/l RS) and shrugged off its lack of lively acidity and minerality.

C was quite deep yellow N was floral and spicy with an undertow of honeyed sweetness, a whiff of petrol and a hjint of cedar. P was full and rich with peachy white fruit, flowers and spice and burnished sweetness and smooth acidity just sufficient to avoid flabbiness and cloying but not enough IMO to make for a really exhilarating experience. Just OK with scallops, it came into its own revealing greater complexity with some Loire goat cheeses. It had a certain baroque splendour more appropriate, IMO, for a Pinot Gris than for a Riesling; just 16/20.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that Weingut Minges completely, fucking rocks and if you haven’t yet tasted a bottle of the Froschkönig Riesling, you are missing out on one of Germanys great wines. I was less enthusiastic about the 2009 version of the Hölle, but this 2010 is everything it ought to be. Pure, reductive, orange, apricot and sharp, pungent, sweaty lily. Lip-smackingly acidic and quite dry, but generously aromatic too. A benchmark for affordable, dry Pfalz Riesling.

I have enjoyed reading everyone else's notes, and finally opened a couple myself.

2009 Reichsrat von Buhl Deidesheimer Herrgottsacker Riesling TrockenThis wine has received some mixed reviews online. Maybe I just opened this bottle at just the right moment, but I have to disagree with the more negative comments about it that I have read. Also keep in mind that this isn’t from one of the elite sites in Deidesheim.Medium-bodied, bone dry, with good underlying acidity. A softer, mineral-driven Riesling, crisp on the edge, and becoming slightly rounder. Almost a spicy nose; tastes of citrus fruit, white peaches, lentils/ beans, chalk, herbs, and rye bread. Firms up a bit on Day 2. Very good+.

2002 Herrenberg - Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling AusleseFloral/cardamom nose. Medium-bodied, crisp, and lightly sweet; quite light in weight for an Auslese, with good underlying acidity. This could easily pass for a Kabinett these days, and I would have certainly identified it as one if this were poured blind. Still quite spritzy. Tastes of apples, pears, citrus fruits, cloves, and ginger, with very delicate Saar-like minerality. Slightly short finish, but a very nice wine overall, as it gets the terroir right.

The nose was rather shy with mineral and citrus aromas peeping through but the palate was crisply forthright, medium bodied, subjectively very dry (I guess c.2g/l RS) with crisp but non-astringent acidity, full of tension and mineral flavours, some floral aromas (very little petrol), less but mainly citrus fruit and a firm, quite long and rather saline finish. It showed none of the delicious creaminess which I often find in Dönnhoff's wines, especially those with RS, and this made it an invigorating pairing for turbot with large shrimps and even better with the Sainte-Maure goat cheese which followed. I wonder if this was not in a slightly closed phase but still most enjoyable; 16.5/20.

2008 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling SpatleseScrew capped, but no reduction at all on this bottle. It's effusively peachy, nearly into the tropical region, but backed up by solid minerality. There's quite a bit of RS here, so it matches up well with a spicy Thai-style vegetable curry, and the back end acids clean everything up. No worries about cellaring this for a few years - there's more than enough stuffing for it to hold and perhaps improve just a bit.

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

David M. Bueker wrote:2008 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling SpatleseScrew capped, but no reduction at all on this bottle. It's effusively peachy, nearly into the tropical region, but backed up by solid minerality. There's quite a bit of RS here, so it matches up well with a spicy Thai-style vegetable curry, and the back end acids clean everything up. No worries about cellaring this for a few years - there's more than enough stuffing for it to hold and perhaps improve just a bit.

David -

Thank you for the note. For whatever reason, I've never had the 2008 Magdalenenkreuz, but it has been a very good QPR in other recent years.

1999 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling AusleseHoly mother of god this is amazing!No descriptions possible, but this is about as brilliant an Auslese I have experienced - pure, layered, complex, light on its feet yet packed with flavour - just wow.

Salil wrote:1999 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling AusleseHoly mother of god this is amazing!No descriptions possible, but this is about as brilliant an Auslese I have experienced - pure, layered, complex, light on its feet yet packed with flavour - just wow.

I see you got the delivery. Good on you for buying Egon Muller Auslese. I haven't gotten up the guts (read: $$$) to do that. Isn't '99 the vintage where Muller had problems with re-fermentation?

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

Wasn't my bottle. I'd bought mainly 2009s and 2006s, and the higher pradikats should be arriving in a couple of weeks. You'll hear from me when they land.

Not aware of any issues with the 99 vintage. Have had the 99 Scharzhofberger Kabinett and Spätlese as well in the last year+, and both were tremendous. Only issue with the bottle last night was a hideously bad cork.

Salil wrote:1999 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling AusleseHoly mother of god this is amazing!No descriptions possible, but this is about as brilliant an Auslese I have experienced - pure, layered, complex, light on its feet yet packed with flavour - just wow.

Hi Salil -

Thank you for the great note. Too bad that Egon Muller has mostly gone beyond my price range - aside from the Scharzhofberger Kabinett, or a 375 of the Spatlese. (Haven't seen any of the Le Gallais wines in a while.)

Bill Hooper wrote:That brings up a good question. Who is making the best Washington Riesling these days? Top 5?

I don't have a top 5, but I have liked the Poet's Leap reislings (from Long Shadows) in WA. They are made by Diel, a top winemaker/producer from the Nahe region in Germany. I think he makes three Poet's Leap wines - a dry, an off-dry and a sweet wine. I really liked them all.

I had a St Urbans-Hof Peisporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett 2002 last night. Didn't take notes, but it was in a great place with a snapper dish cooked in a coconut milk, tomatoes and coriander: lots of slate, nectarines, and apricots on the nose and palate, great balance, and just starting to show the secondary notes and harmony that comes with time (A-).

Let me cut to the chase. The acidity in this will rip your face off. The color is very watery, the nose pretty, with much of the Riesling aromas one comes to expect, but nothing can prepare you for the full on frontal assault of enamel burning Ph that this thing presents. Is it possible to have a negative Ph? I love me some acid in my wine, and this one does have some nice flavor but the more air and time it gets the rougher and tougher it becomes. Those with some experience can maybe comment, is this something that will smooth out over time, my uneducated guess is 50-500 years, or is this just an unholy beast of searing pain that will never be fit for polite company?